Nef
Nef is a Soul Eater and one of the main antagonists of Michelle Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series (which takes place 6,000 years ago in prehistoric Europe during the Stone Age). She is the Bat Mage, making her major appearance in Soul Eater. Biography Before Soul Eater Most of Nef's life before she joined the Healers is unknown. What is known is that she was born to the Bat Clan that resides in the Deep Forest. She had a son who was born one year before Torak. He died out of starvation when the prey disappeared from their part of the Forest. Out of sadness, Nef tried to commit suicide, but the Wolf Mage (Torak's father) prevented this. Whatever this happened before or after the Great Fire is unknown, though the former option is more likely, given that the Soul Eaters went into hiding after the Great Fire. ''Soul Eater'' During winter time, Nef joins up with Eostra, Seshru and Thiazzi in a new plot to take over the Forest. With one of the three Fire Opal shards in their possession, they locate the Eye of the Viper, a mountain in the Far North. The mountain contains a Door, an underground place where the layer between the mortal world and the Otherworld is thinnest. The Soul Eaters intend to find and open the Door to release demons from the Otherworld. They would then bind the demons to their will with the Fire Opal and use them to force all the clans to submit to them. Requiring predators as sacrifices for protective spells against the demons, Nef helps Thiazzi and Seshru in hunting them down. They capture Wolf by using the odour of Nef's bat as a bait. They then set out toward the Far North, not knowing that Torak and Renn are pursuing them. Requiring a human as one of the sacrifices, Nef tempts a White Fox boy to serve as the Soul Eaters' acolyte, filling his head with dreams of power. When the Soul Eaters have gathered all the nine predators in the Eye of the Viper, Torak takes the White Fox boy's place, managing to fool the Soul Eaters who have hardly seen the White Fox boy's face. While Nef makes Torak assist her in feeding the sacrifices, she tells a bit about the Soul Eaters' intentions and her own past. She then forces him to kill the owl sacrifice, claiming it to be his first test in becoming a Soul Eater. For the sake of not exposing himself, Torak obliges. While Torak reunites with Renn and frees Wolf, the Soul Eaters slaughter two more sacrifices (a lynx and a polar bear). Torak encounters Nef in the room containing the sacrifices. Aware of the Bat Mage's insecurities, he tries to convince her to change her mind. After that fails, she orders him to bring the remaining sacrifices forth while she goes to fetch Wolf. After she has left, Torak and Renn set free the rest of the sacrifices and go to prevent the other Soul Eaters from opening the Door. Nef arrives afterwards to raise the alarm over the released sacrifices. During the ensuing fight, Renn steals the Fire Opal and flees with Torak and Wolf, though not before Seshru manages to release a number of demons. Nef sets out with Seshru and Thiazzi (along with Eostra's eagle owl) to reclaim the Fire Opal. They catch Torak who has been separated from Wolf and Renn. When Nef finds and recognizes the ceremonial knife Torak's father passed to his son, the boy's identity finally dawns on the Soul Eaters. It also makes Nef to look Torak with completely new eyes. Nevertheless, the Soul Eaters force Torak to lead them to Renn who has the Fire Opal, though not before Seshru forcefully tattoos the Soul Eaters' mark on the boy's chest. While this happens, Nef stands in watch. By the time Renn is reached, Torak is shocked at how the Bat Mage seems to have grown older in one night. Renn, who is about to jump into a crevasse in order to destroy the Fire Opal's power, is cornered. Having lured a polar bear at the place with the scent of his blood, Torak spirit walks into the bear and battles the Soul Eaters. Wolf and an arctic wolf pack herd the released demons at the place. While this happens, Nef reaches Renn, takes the Fire Opal from her, and throws her away from the crevasse. With bitter triumph, she yells at Torak to tell his father that her debt is repaid. She then jumps into the crevasse, and the demons follow her, ending up being sealed under the ice. The Fire Opal's power drifts away in the process. Legacy Nef's sacrifice saddens Torak into crying over her fate and decide that she was not entirely evil. The remaining Soul Eaters are forced to keep a low profile for a while and seek out the two remaining Fire Opal shards to replace the one Nef destroyed. Nef's spirit appears briefly in Ghost Hunter when Eostra summons her with the other deceased Soul Eaters. She is under Eostra's control because the Eagle Owl Mage possesses her hair. She vanishes when the spell is broken. Appearance Nef is described to be a thickset woman with bent legs. Her legs give her a bow-legged appearance and make her rock while she walks. The cause of her legs' condition is never revealed. When she has a hood over her head, she can be easily mistaken for a big man. Her voice lets Torak to mistake her for a man before he sees her. Nef's facial traits are oddly in contrast with the rest of her appearance. She has a sharp jaw and small darting eyes. Her pointed ears remind Torak of a bat. Like the other Bat Clan members, she has a thorny tattoo on her chin. Like the other Soul Eaters, she has a three-pronged black fork tattooed on her chest. She also wears as a necklace a bone amulet with the fork carved on it. While most people have some part (usually skin) of their totem tied in their clothing, Nef allows a living bat to reside on her shoulder. It is because of the stench of this bat that Wolf refers to Nef as "Stinkfur". She sets the bat free before she sacrifices herself. Personality Nef is described to be one of the smarter and more observant Soul Eaters. Her thoughts are said to fly faster than a bat. According to Fin-Kedinn, she loved to enchant small animals to do her bidding. She also has a living bat as a pet. She treats it affectionately and allows it to reside on her shoulder where her clan totem should be. Nef acts gruffly in Soul Eater, but she ultimately turns out to be more merciful than most of her fellow Soul Eaters. Unlike the others, who seek power for their own personal gains, Nef wants power in order to unite the clans for a better future. She believes that the World Spirit's unpredictability in providing prey unevenly and letting one child die (like her own son) and another live to be a sign that the clans are unable to live like they should. She believes that the Soul Eaters can set the clans on the right path with fear. She says that the title "Soul Eater" is foolish, but she uses it as a way to gain power over others. Nef thinks that sometimes some have to suffer for the good of others and is ready to sacrifice predators (which is forbidden by the clans' laws) in order to gain power to control the Forest. However, she despises needless cruelty and repeatedly stands up to the sadistic Thiazzi when he tortures the sacrifices and Torak. She also does not seem to agree in much with Thiazzi and Seshru. She is the one shown to be handling the sacrifices' feeding, but she gives the polar bear just water so that it cannot escape. Both Wolf and Torak become aware of Nef's inner uncertainties. After slaughtering the lynx and the polar bear, she mutters to herself that she must be strong, as if trying to banish her doubts. She also regrets that she cannot repay her debt to Torak's father for saving her life until at the end of Soul Eater. She develops some motherly feelings toward Torak who reminds her of her deceased son. After learning him to be the Wolf Mage's son, she asks his name and repeats it after him, seeing him in a completely new light. Nef's kinder side wins over in the end, prompting her to take Renn's place in order to destroy the Fire Opal and repay her debt to Torak's father. Before tossing Renn away from the crevasse, Nef places the Wolf Mage's knife in Renn's belt so that she can return it to Torak. She even sends away her beloved bat so that it would not die with her. Powers and Abilities Nef was a talented mage who apparently could enchant small animals to do her bidding. The bat that serves as her clan totem is a proof of this. Her most known ability is her cleverness, and her thoughts are said to move faster than a bat flies. Despite her bow legs, she moves swiftly. She is also physically strong and has decent survival skills. When Eostra summons Nef's spirit in Ghost Hunter, the Eagle Owl Mage describes her as "swift as the bat, the twisted one". Quotes Trivia *Nef contrasts Tenris from Spirit Walker in their interactions with Torak. Tenris first appears to like Torak who becomes fond of the Seal Mage until Tenris reveals himself to be a ruthless villain. Nef in turn introduces herself as an obvious villain to Torak, but she shows him a caring side which ultimately leads her to die in a way that convinces him that she was not utterly evil. 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